Correction: In a previous version of this article, the race in which Kenneth Capalbo is running was incorrect. Capalbo is running as independent against US Representative Patrick J. Kennedy.

During a national election season in which “change” remains the dominant motif, Rhode Island politics is locked in a holding pattern marked by a Democratic stranglehold on state and federal offices. Not much is likely to change after the votes are counted next Tuesday, Novem-ber 4.

If ever there were a time for the beleaguered Rhode Island Republican Party to mount a successful assault on the status quo of the Democrat-dominated General Assembly, this would have been the year. The Ocean State remains mired in fiscal woes, so voters might be ready to try something different.

And the RI GOP still offers brave talk before the election. Yet unless challengers are able to displace Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano and/or Senate Majority Leader Teresa Paiva-Weed — which is far from a certainty — Republicans (whose overall House and Senate numbers aren’t about to significantly change) will have little to show for their efforts.

Instead, Election Day 2008 signals the start of the march to a far more consequential statewide election season — complete with the high-stakes race to succeed two-term Governor Donald L. Carcieri — in 2010.

Particularly because of their antipathy toward Carcieri, but also since they haven’t had one of their own in office since Bruce Sundun’s tenure ended in 1995, Democrats will make an all-out effort to re-gain the governor’s seat.

Barring the unexpected, Stephen J. Laffey, who retains impressive political skills and will likely have learned from his US Senate primary setback in 2006, will marshal similar zeal in trying to keep the top job in Republican hands.

In the interim, here are some of the highlights from the current campaign season.

O, what a feeling
An Obama presidential victory would obviously gladden Democrats and progressives after two terms of George W. Bush. Yet it could also have a dramatic impact on the 2010 governor’s office in Rhode Island.

Earlier this year, Attorney General Patrick Lynch was the most high-profile Rhode Island Democrat to endorse Obama, back when the party’s establishment — including his brother, state Democratic Party chair Bill Lynch — was firmly aligned with Hillary Clinton. So it’s not inconceivable that Patrick Lynch, who is prevented by term limits from running for another term as AG, might land a job in Washington.

The same is true of another Obama supporter, Republican-turned-independent Lincoln Chafee, who has been speculated about as a potential administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency. If Chafee remains in Rhode Island, he will still be an intriguing possibility, given his high statewide approval rating, as an independent candidate for governor in 2010.

Larkin Barker and Eli Zupnick, former staffers for Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Roberts, are among the Rhode Islanders working on the Obama campaign. Should the Democrat win, additional Ocean Staters can be expected to seek jobs in the new administration.

Back in Rhode IslandBy 2010, fallout from the ongoing national and state fiscal crises could still frame the race to succeed Carcieri. And as it happens, two of the likely candidates, Laffey and Democratic General Treasurer Frank Caprio, each like to tout their financial acumen.

Obama redraws the map Barack Obama has made history. The next question is whether his victory has sparked a lasting electoral realignment.

Suffrage net city Three years ago, when the Red Sox were winning and John Kerry was losing, YouTube hadn’t even been invented.

Does not compute Though he’s infamous for his aversion to computers, McCain is actually no Luddite.

The shape of things to come The Democratic front-runners and the Republican establishment will be making critical decisions in the coming weeks that will shape the course of the race.

Rise of the political bogeyman The Republicans appear headed to a second straight national pummeling, which will leave it marginalized in the federal government and an increasing number of state houses. Many party faithful are already noting the need for the GOP to move back toward the moderate center to survive. But the conservatives with microphones are heading down a very different path — and their followers, who now dominate the Republican Party, are going right with them.

Hope restored Barack Obama's election has sparked international wonder. His task, however, is great.

Outsmarting himself Much of Barack Obama’s appeal is rooted in his promise to bring a new style of thoughtful politics to Washington.

RHODY'S LOCAL FOOD MOVEMENT FINDS ITS GROOVE | February 23, 2009 Five years ago, when Farm Fresh Rhode Island (FFRI) launched its mission of promoting Ocean State-produced food, co-founder Noah Fulmer discovered a curious disconnection in the local food chain.

TICKET TO RIDE | February 11, 2009 In April 1999, two weeks after I started on the job at the Providence Phoenix , the FBI raided City Hall, formally unveiling the federal investigation that would land Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci Jr., Rhode Island's rascal king, behind bars.

ADVOCATES RENEW PUSH FOR PUBLICLY-FINANCED RI ELECTIONS | February 04, 2009 During a news conference Tuesday afternoon in the State House rotunda, proponents of significantly expanding publicly financed elections in Rhode Island — a concept they call "Fair Elections" — cited a litany of reasons for why it would be good for the Ocean State and its citizens.

THE UPSIDE OF HOPE IN RHODE ISLAND | January 29, 2009 Everywhere one turns these days, there's seemingly more bad news about Rhode Island: the unemployment rate, one of the highest in the nation, tops 10 percent — and the state's running out of unemployment assistance.